The H5N1 virus, a subtype of the avian influenza virus, is found in poultry. Scientists at first believed it was impossible for birds to directly infect humans with the virus. But an outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 that killed 6 of 18 people infected with the virus proved the contrary. Since then outbreaks have forced the slaughter of millions of chickens, ducks, and other birds across Asia. This year there have been 44 confirmed human cases of H5N1 flu in Thailand and Vietnam. Of these, 32 people died. There is not yet a vaccine for the disease. Meanwhile the virus has undergone huge genetic changes and become even more pathogenic. It now affects not only birds, but also cats, pigs, and even tigers. Experts fear the disease will mutate into a form that can leap between humans and sweep populations with no immunity. The adaptation could occur through a few genetic changes or what is known as "re-assortment" of the genes of the avian strain and the human strain. Domestic ducks and pigs are seen as likely transmitters. "All virologists agree that this is a very dangerous time for H5N1" . A number of Asian countries have been affected by avian flu (bird flu) infecting their poultry stocks. In some of these countries, a small number of people have contracted the avian flu virus from chickens. Scientists are concerned by these events because it is feared that the avian flu virus could merge with a human flu virus. The result of this merging might result in a new, highly infectious, rapidly fatal flu virus. Such a new virus would be transmitted rapidly from person to person with potentially devastating results. To keep the outbreak of avian flu virus under control, many of the Asian countries are culling their poultry stocks to prevent further spread of the virus. When a new, highly infectious form of a flu virus is formed it can rapidly
infect a large number of people. The result is a illness that rapidly spreads
round the world and may cause widespread loss of life. An example is the Spanish
flu pandemic of 1918-1919 which caused an estimated 40-50 million deaths
worldwide. There is no evidence that the people who have been infected with avian flu have
passed the disease on to other people. This suggests that a new, highly
infectious, flu virus has not been produced yet. However, every time an avian
flu virus jumps from a bird to a person, the risk of a new flu virus being
produced increases. All birds are thought to be susceptible to infection with avian influenza,
though some species are more resistant to infection than others. Infection
causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a
highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The
latter is known as “highly pathogenic avian influenza”. This form is characterized by sudden onset, severe illness, and rapid death, with a mortality that can approach 100%. Fifteen subtypes of influenza virus are known to infect birds, thus providing an extensive reservoir of influenza viruses potentially circulating in bird populations. To date, all outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been caused by influenza A viruses of subtypes H5 and H7. Migratory waterfowl – most notably wild ducks – are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses, and these birds are also the most resistant to infection. Domestic poultry, including chickens and turkeys, are particularly susceptible to epidemics of rapidly fatal influenza. Direct or indirect contact of domestic flocks with wild migratory waterfowl has been implicated as a frequent cause of epidemics. Live bird markets have also played an important role in the spread of epidemics. Recent research has shown that viruses of low pathogenicity can, after circulation for sometimes short periods in a poultry population, mutate into highly pathogenic viruses. These constant, permanent and usually small changes in the antigenic composition
of influenza A viruses are known as antigenic “drift”. The tendency of influenza viruses to undergo frequent and permanent antigenic changes necessitates constant monitoring of the global influenza situation and annual adjustments in the composition of influenza vaccines. Both activities have been a cornerstone of the since its inception in 1947. Influenza viruses have a second characteristic of great public health concern: influenza A viruses, including subtypes from different species, can swap or “reassort” genetic materials and merge. This reassortment process, known as antigenic “shift”, results in a novel subtype different from both parent viruses.
As populations will have no immunity to the new subtype, and as no existing vaccines can confer protection, antigenic shift has historically resulted in highly lethal pandemics. For this to happen, the novel subtype needs to have genes from human influenza viruses that make it readily transmissible from person to person for a sustainable period. Conditions favourable for the emergence of antigenic shift have long been thought to involve humans living in close proximity to domestic poultry and pigs. Because pigs are susceptible to infection with both avian and mammalian viruses, including human strains, they can serve as a “mixing vessel” for the scrambling of genetic material from human and avian viruses, resulting in the emergence of a novel subtype.Birds that survive infection excrete virus for at least 10 days, orally and in
faeces, thus facilitating further spread at live poultry markets and by
migratory birds. The epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza caused by
H5N1, which began in mid-December 2003 in the Republic of Korea and is now being
seen in other Asian countries, is therefore of particular public health concern.
Many laboratories in the WHO global influenza network have the necessary
high-security facilities and reagents for performing these tests as well as
considerable experience. Rapid bedside tests for the diagnosis of human
influenza are also available, but do not have the precision of the more
extensive laboratory testing that is currently needed to fully understand the
most recent cases and determine whether human infection is spreading, either
directly from birds or from erson to person. Antiviral drugs, some of which can
be used for both treatment and prevention, are clinically effective against
influenza A virus strains in otherwise healthy adults and children, but have
some limitations. Avian influenza A H5 and H7 viruses can be distinguished as “low pathogenic” and “high pathogenic” forms on the basis of genetic features of the virus and the severity of the illness they cause in poultry; influenza H9 virus has been identified only in a “low pathogenicity” form. Each of these three avian influenza A viruses (H5, H7, and H9) theoretically can be partnered with any one of nine neuraminidase surface proteins; thus, there are potentially nine different forms of each subtype (e.g., H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N9). Bird flu turkey, h5n1 bird flu, bird flu prevention, bird flu disease, thailand bird flu, bird flu 1918, information about bird flu, bird bush flu, article on bird flu, bird flu canada, treatment for bird flu, bird flu protection, bird flu greece, cdc bird flu, viet nam bird flu, bird flu update, bird flu map, bird flu fact, history of the bird flu, bird europe flu, picture of bird flu, bird flu prepare, bird flu cure, bird flu asia, bird flu in asia, bird flu indonesia, bird flu in us, bird flu death, bird flu outbreak, latest on the bird flu, latest bird flu news, bird flu medicine, cause of bird flu, bird europe flu in, bird flu in china, how bird flu spread, who bird flu, bird flu drug, bird flu strategy, bird flu in turkey, bird croatia flu, avian bird flu pandemic, bird flu in the united state, us bird flu. The name H5N1 refers to the type of proteins found in the protein coat of the
influenza virus - haemagglutinin 5(H5) and neuraminidase 1 (N1). There are
dozens of different proteins that can be present, so that flu viruses called
H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 etc are also known. So far H5N1 has spread only rarely from infected birds to individuals and even
more rarely from one person to another and not then on to a third person. Some
scientists are concerned that H5N1 might mutate to form a new virus that could
infect people. However, such mutations usually lead to less virulent forms of a
virus. More worrying though is an increasing trend among people who favour
"alternative" medicine or those misinformed by a scaremongering media to avoid vaccinations against real threats such as mumps, measles, rubella, and human flu because of concerns about rare or non-existent side-effects. In the countries that have been affected by bird flu, governments are
attempting to contain the virus by culling affected poultry stocks. By removing
the potential for the virus to spread through the countries' chicken
populations, it is hoped that the virus will be contained and removed from
circulation. Symptoms of bird flu in humans have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms
(fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia,
severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other
severe and life-threatening complications. H5n1 map, h5n1 treatment, h5n1 symptom virus, avian flu h5n1 virus, h5n1 news, h5n1 who, h5n1 scutellaria, avian bird flu h5n1, flu h5n1 strain, china h5n1, bird flu h5n1 symptom virus, h5n1 history, canada h5n1, company h5n1 vaccine, h5n1 prevention, does h5n1 stand, h5n1 romania, h5n1 information, cdc h5n1, h5n1 wirus, blog h5n1, cure h5n1 natural, h5n1 strain virus, h5n1 nam viet, h5n1 pig, h5n1 vaccines, bird flu h5n1 symptom, h5n1 picture, death h5n1, h5n1 picture virus, h5n1 structure, aviaire grippe h5n1, avian h5n1, cure h5n1, disease h5n1, does h5n1 mean h5n1 medicine, h5n1 relenza, amantadine h5n1, flu h5n1 symptom, h5n1 photo, cepa h5n1, h5n1 lesson plan, h5n1 human human, avian h5n1 influenza strain, bird flu h5n1 vaccine, definition h5n1, h5n1 pigeon virus, flu h5n1 vaccine, h5n1 outbreak, animal bird by flu h5n1 infected other
, h5n1 structure virus, h5n1 turkey, drug h5n1, flu h5n1 update, google h5n1, h5n1 mask n95, 2005 h5n1, bush h5n1, h5n1 human human transmission, h5n1 mortality rate, h5n1 origin, h5n1 size virus, h5n1 vaccination, 1918 h5n1, colombia h5n1, epidemiology h5n1. The H5N1 virus currently infecting birds in Asia that has caused human illness
and death is resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, two antiviral medications
commonly used for influenza.
According to top scientists at the World Health Organization, the world is
ripe for a Bird Flu pandemic. At a recent meeting of health ministers from a
variety of countries in Bangkok, discussions pointed to the fact that we are
long overdue for a pandemic, since one occurs every 20 to 30 years. Since avian
flu is very versatile and has already shown to be apt to integrating with other
species, this could mean that treatment options will not be effective in
stamping out the virus before it becomes widespread. They feel that once a
pandemic starts, there will not be a single country in the world that will not
be affected. Related articles on this topic are also available on the NewsTarget
Network. The second thing was that I had recently come across what appeared to be a sick gull on the beach at Bridlington. I was only mildly concerned at the time, but after reading this I started to wonder.
So, in brief I wondered if I might suggest that the Sea Watchers might like to keep an eye open for sick birds, and especially any "bar-headed geese as well as some brown-headed gulls (Larus brunnicephalus), great black-headed gulls (Larus ichthyaetus) and great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo)". This presentation may help in removing some of the cobwebs surrounding the H5N1 virus. It does raise the point tho' about how to differentiate between your average sick bird and one that might be infected with H5N1. Because such an event would be geographically widespread it will leave each local area to cope with and solve problems on their own. In such a circumstance, any preparation, however limited, can save lives and suffering. And to make these local preparations, knowledge is not only empowering, but essential. Rather than leave these preparations solely to governmental authorities and rather than restrict knowledge to designated "experts," both of whom have failed to prepare adequately, it is necessary to begin to undertake many needed tasks ourselves. Scientists fear that avian flu could cause a world pandemic if it crosses with human strains and mutates into a form easily passed between people. The H5N1 strain, which has killed over 60 people in southeast Asia since 2003, has spread as far west as Croatia, apparently carried by migratory birds. The H5N1 sample had come from a father and daughter who died from the virus in Hong Kong two years ago. TORONTO (CP) - Two wild ducks in Manitoba have tested positive for H5N1 avian flu viruses, but not the dangerous form of the virus circulating in Southeast Asia, federal officials announced Saturday. I want to emphasize that the H5N1 subtype detected in Manitoba is completely distinct from the strain currently present in Asia. In trying to clear the confusion over why the Canadian findings are not a source of alarm, Evans likened H5N1 viruses to people walking around wearing blue blazers and grey slacks. China called bird flu a “serious epidemic” and pledged to step up measures to fight the deadly virus yesterday as officials announced three new outbreaks of the disease in poultry in the country. The outbreaks were detected last week in western and southern China, resulting in the killing of nearly 175,000 birds, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
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